Right to Disconnect Bill aims to give workers a digital off-switch after office hours
Right to Disconnect Bill aims to give workers a digital off-switch after office hours
A private member’s bill introduces the Right to Disconnect, proposing an employees’ welfare authority to safeguard off-hours breaks and protect work-life balance.
A private member’s bill introduced in Lok Sabha on Friday seeks to give employees the legal right to ignore work-related calls and emails after office hours. The Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025, tabled by NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, proposes creating an employees’ welfare authority to ensure this right and protect workers from being compelled to respond beyond official hours or on holidays.
It arrives as Parliament enters its winter session, which began on December 1, with 15 sittings scheduled until December 19, amid discussions around the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls in 12 states. In addition to the disconnect proposal, Sule also introduced the Paternity and Paternal Benefits Bill, 2025, and the Code on Social Security (Amendment) Bill, 2025, alongside broader debates on worker welfare. Other MPs have flagged bills on menstrual benefits and NEET exemptions, underscoring a push to expand protections for workers and students alike.
The bill envisions an employees’ welfare authority to confer the right on every employee to disconnect from work-related calls and emails beyond working hours and on holidays. Sule says the measure would foster a better quality of life and reduce burnout in today’s digital culture, though critics note that private member’s bills rarely become law and that implementation will hinge on government stance and corporate adherence.
If enacted, the Right to Disconnect could reshape workplace norms across India by setting legal expectations for after-hours boundaries, while also prompting debates on productivity, urgent communications, and the balance between flexibility and accountability. The ongoing session and related proposals will reveal how far lawmakers are willing to push for healthier work practices.
Cover image source: ‘No work calls after office hours’: Private member’s bill in Lok Sabha seeks employees’ right to disconnect 🔗
